Playoff overtime is awesome. Heart attack inducing if your team is involved, but extremely entertaining none the less. The intro here is being written after the second overtime game in a row with the Rangers being victorious in both games.

Back to back overtime winners and a 3-0 series lead means happy cocktailing this week, as opposed to sad cocktailing. For a beverage, I found an interesting sounding drink called the Marny that features gin and Grand Marnier. I recently just found my bottle of Grand Marnier and wanted to get it some use this week as it’s been a little while since I broke it out, and a gin/orange combination sounds pretty good right about now.

2 oz. gin

1 oz. Grand Marnier

Dash of orange bitters

Orange peel for garnish

In a mixing glass with ice, combine gin and Grand Marnier. Add a dash of orange bitters if you have them. Stir until very well chilled, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass; twist a long orange peel over the surface to garnish.

There is a very orange nose. No surprise given the Grand Marnier and the bitters here. I get some juniper from the gin here too. It’s a pleasant combination at work here.

Wow. This is not at all what I expected here. The one ounce of Grand Marnier easily takes over the gin, which is surprising. You would almost think the ratios are inverse to what they actually are. The mouth feel on this is different than what I expected as well. It feels like it has more body than it looks like it should. The liqueur has a heavier mouth feel that coats your palate and almost makes it seem like you’re drinking something more viscous than you actually are.

Having said all of that, the more I have of this, the more I have of it the more I can pick out the gin. Now that I can taste it and it pairs nicely with the liqueur. It makes this taste just as potent as it actually is. The gin and liqueur leave a little lingering mouthfeel/burn on the palate when you’ve finished having a sip, but it could be worse, and does go away after a few seconds.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. I thought it would be lighter, and somehow less strong than it is. So it’s good, but I’m not sure if it’s the right drink for me right now. It’s got all the strength and simplicity I like looking for in drinks, but now that I know what it brings to the table, I think I’ll be more in a mood for it in a different time.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)